Device for measuring feet



E. J. BLISS.

DEVICE FOR NIEASURING FEET.

APPLICATION FILED AUGJ. 1918.

Patented Aug. 15,

zur 1. zee-T ELMER J. BLISS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS.

DEVICE FOR MEASURINGv FEET'.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1922.

Application filed August 7, 1918. -Serial No. 248,717.

T0 allwlwm it mary concern.'

Be it known that I, ELMER J.' BLISS, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Boston, county of Suffolk, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and usefulI Improvements in Devices for Measuring Feet, of which the following is a speciiication.

This invention relates to the art of fitting shoes to the human foot. Its primary purpose is to provide a simple, convenient and absolutely reliable device for readily ascertaining or `indicating the length size and the width size of a shoe required to properly fit the lfoot that is being measured while in an expanded position normally supporting the weight of the body.

It is Well known that the human foot .when supporting the weight of the-body expands both in length and width and that feet of different types will expand in different ratios. shoe stores for measuring the length of feet is not adapted to measure the foot when expanded by the weight of the body and it is the custom to make a more or less arbitrary allowancefor such expansion.

The present invention is especially adapted to indicate the size measurements when the foot isin the expanded position bearing the weight-and consists, generally speaking, in the combination of a foot supporting platform provided with movable side gauges p adapted to come into contact with opposite sides of the ball ortion lof-the footiand being correlated with a width-indicating de vice which registers or indicates the proper width of shoe required for the foot being measured. An additional feature consists in the l r'provision of an adjustable toe gauge combined with a properly marked scale on the platform or base so `arranged as to correctly indicate the required length of the shoe; In this case the toe gauge is made to give two length measurements, one corresponding to the actual length measurement of the foot and the other corresponding to the size length` of the shoe required to it it.

These and other features of the invention will be particularly explained and disclosed in the followingspecification and will be defined in the claims annexed hereto.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated. a convenient forml of construction The sizestick commonly used iny and arran ement embod in of this invgention in which g the prmclples Figure 1 is a plan view of the vcomplete devlce;

Figure 2 is a side elevation thereof;

Figure 3 shows the details of the side gauge supportlng brackets and the connecting registering link which lie beneath the platflorm as indicated in dotted-lines of Figure In the practice of my invention according to the form illustrated, I provide a base or platform a for supporting the foot provided wlth legs a to raise it slightly above the floor 1n order to leave clearance for the movement of the parts underneath. The heel portion of the platform is preferably slightly raised and hasat the back end a projectlng lug. a4 to form a gauge or rest for accurately positioning the heel of the foot. The elevation of the heel portion of the base corresponds approximately with the elevation of the heel of the foot that is caused by the heel of the shoe in order that the posture of the foot when being measured may approximate the posture of the foot when wearing the shoe. At its forward end the base is provided with a boss a3 bored longitudinally to receive the slide rod b3 whlch carries at its rear end a'plate b and a projecting lug or linger b2 adapted to move over a graduated scale b marked on the base itself at proper distances or intervals to shoe size lengths and fractions thereof.l

The late b is arranged to touch the extreme tip of the great toe and serves to register with the numeral on the'scale that indicates the actual size length of the foot as it supports the weight. The forward end of the tongue or finger b2 serves to indicate the size length of the shoe appropriate to fit the foot being measured.l

On the opposite sides of the base along the ball portion of the foot are mounted two movable side gauges adapted to have light contact with the opposite sides of the ball portion of the foot each gauge being capable of movement independently of the other so that if one side gauge comes to rest against one side of the foot before the .other gauge reaches its position vof Contact the other gauge will be free to move until it also forms a gauging contact with the foot.

Any convenient way of mounting `the gauges may be employed and in the form shown in the drawings this is accomplished as follows. 0n the under side of the base or platform a is formed a lug a2 transversely bored to receive a gauge supporting rod C. For supporting the right hand gauge a bracket e is provided which has perforated lugs e e2 through which passes' the rod c' and by means of which the bracket e has a sliding support on said rod. At its right hand end bracket e is provided with an upwardly turned flange or web e3 carrying the horizontal plate e4 whose inner edge terminates in an upwardly extendin flange e5 `which forms the contact member or engaging the adjacent side of the foot.

In a similar manner a bracket d provided with lugs al', Z2 perforated to receive the rod c forms a sliding support for the horizontal plate d4 throughthe medium of the verical web d". The upwardly extending flange Z5 forms a contact member for engaging the adjacent side of the foot.

On the under side of plate dt is formed a pin or boss d6 and on the under side of the bracket e near its outer end is formed a sim- 'ilar lug or pin e and these two lugs are conv comprises a cross-connecting link f4 pivotally connected with the gauge member e4 as shown at f5 and having at its opposite end a pivotal connection with an arm f3 that is secured to the lower end of a short vertical shaft f which carries at its upper end both the plate d4 and the pointer or indicator f whose free end travels along a graduated scale marked on the member d4 to correspond with the standard width sizes of shoes.

A handle f2 serves to rotate the shaft f in a clockwise direction to bring the pivotal connection between the short arm f3 and link-f4 into line with the two centers f, f5 in which position the link members are on a dead center, thereby preventing the tension spring g from drawing the two gauge members toward each other. When the foot is positioned on the base, the turning of the handle f2 in a reverse or contra-clockwise direction moves the pivotal joint away from the dead center and allows the tension spring to act in normal fashion to bring each side gauge into close contact with the corresponding side of the foot in which position the pointer or indicator f will correctly indicate the appropriate size width of the shoe require Beside indicating the length measurement of the foot and the lengt-h size of the appropriate shoe therefor, the toe gauge may serve as an indicator for ascertaining or showing the appropriate size of stocking required to fit the foot. being measured. To this end Iv provide a stocking scale n whose graduations are correctly positioned with relation to the right hand pointer be to indicate the appropriate size of stocking when the toe gauge plate b is in contact with the extreme tip of the great toe. lt will therefore be seen that by merely sliding the toe gauge into contact with the great toe there is automatically indicated readings for showing the length measurement of thev foot and the appropriate length of stockings and-shoes therefor.

As is commonly understood in the art of shoe making and last making the units of width measurement or the width sizes corresponding to the actual width measurement varies progressively with each increase in the length of the foot. For example, the width distance corresponding to a. B width in a No. 9 last would be just the same in actual measurement as width A in a No. 10 last'or width C in a No. 8 last. T6 meet these conditions and secure correct width size indications on the machine in accordance with the different lengths of feet to be measured, provision Ashould be made whereby variations in the length sizes of feet *being measured should be attended with the appropriate variations in the Width size indicated. That is, for each increase in length size the width indicator should indicate one Width narrower for the same actual width distance separating the side gages on any selected transverse plane or should indiate the same width size if the gages are moved farther apart by a distance equal to one width size.

lln the form of my invention illustrated in the drawings this is conveniently accomplished' by employing side gages which diverge toward the toe end of the machine at the appropriate angle -tocompensate for the increase in size of the width units in correlation with the increased distance from the heel gage or stop.. This principle by which the width indications are varied in correlation with the different lengths of feet constitutes an important feature of my present invention.

What I claim is:

l. A device for measuringfeet. embracing in its construction a foot supporting base provided with heel-positioning means combined with a pair of side-gauging members arranged on opposite sides of the ball portion of the base each of which is capable of movement independently of the other and a width-indicating device operatively interconnected with both said side members to indicate the width size of shoe for the foot lbeing measured according to the width. of

ment toward and away from each otheracross said base and supported against movement longitudinally of said base, a width indicating device operatively combined vwith both said side gaging members in a .manner adapted to permit unequal movement of said members while indicating in width sizes the total separation of said side gaging members, substantially as described.

3. In a foot measuring'device the combination with a footl supporting base, of foot positioning means, oppositely movable side gaging members supported on fixed portions of the base, one of said side gaging members being rovided with a graduated scale, a movab e pointer arranged in proximity to said scale and meansconnected with both said side gaging members and acting conjointly to shift said pointer along said scale to vindicate the proper width size of a shoe in accordance with the width of the entire space separating said side gaging members, substantially as described.

4. The combination with a foot supporting base, side-gauging members each of which is laterally movable toward or away from the other to gauge the width of an interposed foot, a width-size indicating scale formed on one gaging member, a movable pointer arranged in proximity to said scale and moved to different portionsof the scale by the combined movement toward or away from each other of said side-gauging meinbers, substantially as described.

5. In a foot measuring device the combination of a foot supporting base provided with a heel gauge and an adjustable toe gauge, oppositely disposed side-gauging members movable toward each other to make a gauging contact with the opposite sides of the interposed foot, and having a width-indicating pointer and scale, and a link connecting the side members and. the pointer for causing the pointer to indicate the appropriate width of shoe according to the extent of separation of the side-gauging members from each other, substantially as described.

6.`The combination of afoot'supporting base, a transverse guide rod, two side-gauging members slidingly mounted on said guide rodone of said side-gauging members carrying a pivoted pointer and a width-1ndicating scale, a link interconnecting said pivoted pointer with the opposite side-gauging member, substantially as described.

l. The combination of a foot supporting base provided with means for gauging. the length of the foot being measured, oppositely disposed movable side members for engaging opposite sides of the foot, means for normally drawing said side members toward each other, one of said side members being provided with a width-indicating scale, and a pivoted pointer arranged to move over the scale. a connecting link connecting the ointer with the opposite side member whereiy the movements of the side members toward or away from each other causes a corresponding movement of the pointer along the scale, substantially as described.

8. The combination of a foot supporting base provided with suitable heel and toe gauges, width-indicating gauging members mounted on opposite sides of the base', one of said members having a movable pointer and its co-ordinated width-indicating scale, a pointer-actuating link extending from one side member to the other beneath the base and serving, when the side members are extendedv apart, to maintain them in extreme position of separation, and a spring normally tending to draw said side members toward each other, substantially as described.

9. In a foot measuring device the combination of a foot-supporting base having a length-indicating scale, a heel-positioning gauge and a length size toe gauge slidingly mounted at the forward end of said base to move along said graduated length scale marked on the base, said toe gauge being provided with two gauge-registering portions one for indicating thel actual length measurement of the foot and the other for indicating the appropriate size length of the shoe to fit such foot, substantially as described. v

10. In a foot measuring device the combination of a foot-supporting base provided with a heel-positioning gauge at its rear end and having two graduated scales extending longitudinally through the fore-part, one scale being marked to indicate length sizes of shoes and the other scale being marked to indicate length sizes of stockings, and a longitudinally adjustable gauge arranged to abut against thetip of the toe provided with gauge registering indicating surfaces correlated with said scales to show the stocking size and the shoe size appropriate to said foot, substantially as described.

l1. A foot measuring device embracing a foot supporting base provided with a heel-positioning gauge at its rear end and an adjustable toe gauge arranged in co--oi'- dination with two length size scales extending through the toe part of the base to indic-ate the length measurements of the foot and of the shoe and of the stocking appropriate to fit said foot, substantially as described.

12. In a foot measuring device, the combination of a foot supporting platform having a heel ypositioning stop, opposed up- Wardly projecting Width gauge members mounted to have lateral movement independently of each other, means normally acting to draw said gauges toward each other into gauging contact With the opposite sides of an interposed foot at the ball portion thereof, and means coordinated with saidA gauge members for indicating the size Width measurements in correct correlation With the length and Width of the foot being measured, substantially as described.

13. In a foot measuring device, the combination of a foot supporting platform having a heel positioning stop, independently movable Width gauging members automatically drawn into gauging contact against the opposite sides of an interposed foot, means for indicating the Width size of an interposed foot in direct coordination to the length of the foot said indicating means embracing a Width size scale and a cooperating indicator, said Width gaugingmembers, said indicator and said scale being coordinated to indicate on said scale the Width size in correct correlation With the length of the foot, substantially as described.

14. In a foot measuring device, the combination of a foot supporting platform, laterall movable Width gauges projecting upwardly above the level of said platform and normally drawn into gauging Contact With the opposite sides of the foot, Widthsize indicating means coacting With said Width gauges to indicate the Width of an interposed foot in accordance Withthe actual distance separating said gauges and with the length of the foot, the Width gauging faces of the gauge members diverging for- Wardly to correlate the Width measurement to the length of the foot, substantially as described.

In Witness whereof, l have subscribed the above specification.

ELMER J. BLISS. 

